This invention relates to methods for providing visual feedback concerning behavior, and the use of such methods in discouraging inappropriate behavior, and in rewarding desirable behavior. The invention is especially suited for use with children.
In the field of psychology, and especially in the area of behavior modification, the importance of providing "feedback", i.e. readily-understood information concerning the impact of behavior, has been long recognized. Feedback enables a person to know whether or not his or her behavior has been acceptable, and helps the person to control his or her impulses to behave inappropriately, because feedback helps the person to anticipate the response which will be given to his or her behavior by others.
It is considered desirable that feedback be provided as quickly as possible following the display of a behavior, so that the person will be able quickly and clearly to associate the feedback with the behavior for which it was given. Feedback is considered to be of paramount importance in any new learning situation, such as any of those to which young children are exposed daily, both in and out of classrooms.
It is considered desirable also to provide ongoing feedback, as distinguished from intermittent feedback, so that the person can know, with certainty, that a given behavior will result in a particular, specific, and consistent response. Whenever a particular behavior is displayed, it is considered desirable for the same type of response to be given to it, thereby encouraging the person to form accurate expectations about the behavior of his or her environment.
Finally, it is considered desirable for the "rules" of acceptable social behavior to be established clearly and without ambivalence, especially during the process of socializing the young child.
"Report cards" have long been used to provide visual feedback to students, concerning their behavior in school classrooms. At home, parents have used a "checklist" of their children's responsibilities to aid in determining whether their children have earned their allowance money or other rewards. Various types of consumer products have appeared which are intended to assist parents in monitoring and managing their children's behavior.
Parents have long sought assistance in disciplining their children. All of the authoritative sources have agreed that any disciplinary procedure must be administered fairly if the child is to develop his or own internal sense of right and wrong. It is widely agreed that any discipline procedure which is administered too long after the corresponding behavior is less effective than discipline which is administered promptly. With the increased publicity given to the problem of child abuse, parents today are understandably wary of using corporal punishment, and there is a substantial body of evidence to support the proposition that corporal punishment is less effective in making long-term changes in behavior than other types of discipline. The denial or suspension of privileges, in proportion to the severity of the behavior exhibited, is considered to be the best response to most types of undesirable behavior.
In each of the examples discussed above, a discrete interval scale has been used. The present invention permits the use of both discrete and continuous interval scales, and permits the rapid adjustment of feedback concerning behavior from moment to moment in a highly visual, effective, personalized, and easily-operated format. The apparatus of the present invention is also inexpensive and self-contained. It facilitates the delivery of rewards or penalties, as appropriate, as soon as possible after the behavior is displayed.